Save Me
by GoDale13
Summary: 1 month after saying goodbye to Ziva, Tony receives a package in the mail. Will he and the team be able to figure things out and find Ziva in time? Will Tony and Ziva finally figure out what's really keeping them apart? Tony/Ziva
1. Chapter 1

Here's a new story for ya'll! Hope you enjoy it. I have a few more chapters written out, so if ya'll enjoy it, I will post more chapters ASAP.

Tony sat at his desk doing anything he could not to look at Ziva's empty desk across the way. It'd been almost a month since he, Gibbs, and Vance left Ziva on the tarmac in Tel Aviv, and still no one had heard a word from her. Tony understood why she did not want to talk to him, but figured that she would have at least contacted Abby. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not hear the mailman walk up with a small package and sit in front of him on the desk.

"Thanks," he mumbled as the man walked away. He looked at the box for a second, before he reached out and picked it up. When Tony opened the box, he was not prepared for what he saw inside. "Ziva," he whispered, earning the attention of McGee and Gibbs. He reached into the box, and pulled out the contents of the box, holding it gingerly in his hands.

Gibbs recognized the shining silver in Tony's hand quickly, and jumped out of his seat. "Who sent that?" he asked, turning Tony's attention back from Ziva's Star of David he held in his hands.

"There's more," Tony said, pulling a folded piece of paper out from the bottom of the box. When he unfolded it, a picture fell onto the table. Looking down at it, Tony grimaced. It was Ziva tied to a chair in the middle of the room. It was clearly evident that she had been beaten for a while.

"What's the paper say?" Gibbs asked, and Tony turned his attention to it.

"'_Surely this is not a surprise. Do not try to find her, or she will pay. She will remember how we deal with traitors like her,_'" Tony read aloud.

"Take this down to Abby. Have her see if any traces were left from who sent it. McGee, call Ducky. Have him look at this, and get his thoughts," Gibbs ordered as he headed up the stairs to have a quick visit with the Director.

**Director Vance's Office**

"And what do you plan on doing?" Vance asked after Gibbs filled him in on what just happened. "Technically, she is no longer a part of NCIS, thus we have no jurisdiction on anything involving her. She is under Mossad now"

"You know just as well as I do that Director David would rather leave her to die than go after her," Gibbs fumed. "I don't care if she is under Bin laden's jurisdiction, she is still a part of my team, and I WILL find her and bring her back here," he told Vance.

"There is more at stake than your 'team' here, Gibbs," Vance said, grabbing a toothpick from his desk. "We have no idea who has Officer David, where she is, or even if she is still alive."

"She's alive," Gibbs said, sure of himself. If she was dead, his gut would have told him. Gibbs looked at Vance for a moment. Listening to his gut, Gibbs said, "If there is anything you would like to divulge about this, please do so."

"I only know what you do," Vance sighed, sitting back down. "However, if I were you, I'd start looking in the files Miss Sciuto recovered from the charred laptop. My bet is Director David put Ziva on the same mission Michael Rivkin had."

**Abby's Lab**

"Why would anyone do this?" Abby rambled. "She never should have stayed in Israel. She would have been safe here, and this guy wouldn't have done this to her if she came back."

"Abs, it was her decision," Tony said solemnly. "She needed time to think before she came back here," he explained, thinking back a month ago. He tried telling her the truth, but she was too emotionally confused and angry to comprehend what happened. Her whole life had been turned upside down, she needed time to cope. However, after seeing her beautiful face all beaten up in that picture, Tony's heart plummeted. It was his fault she went back to Israel. His fault she chose to stay behind. If he hadn't been so stupid and lived when he should have been the one to die, Ziva would still have been in D.C. and safe.

"Oh, my," Ducky said, walking into the lab. "Where did you get this?" Ducky asked, looking at the screen where the picture of Ziva was projected next to the note.

"Someone sent it to me with her necklace," Tony explained, pointing to the table where everything lay. "How bad off is she, Ducky?" Tony asked the older man.

"She is sure to be in massive amounts of pain," Ducky explained, studying the photograph briefly before looking at the note. "Any clue as to who sent this?" Ducky asked.

"I'm tracking the postal records right now," McGee said from beside Abby. "They sent it through multiple lines to make it difficult to trace."

"Any traces?" Gibbs asked, joining then conversation as he walked into the lab.

"I searched everywhere, there's not one speck," Abby said. "You have to find her, Gibbs."

"I will," he replied, kissing her on the cheek. "DiNozzo, you're with me. McGee, stay here and help sift through the information on the laptop we found in Ziva's apartment. See what you can find," Gibbs ordered, leaving the room with Tony following.

In the elevator, Gibbs turned to Tony, "We will find her, and I will make sure that whoever did this will pay."

"How are we supposed to find her when she's probably halfway on the other side of the world?" Tony said, letting out his worries finally. "Boss, if she was on a mission, why did she have her necklace on? It would be a dead giveaway that she was Israeli," Tony said, his mind finally becoming useful.

"I know, Tony," Gibbs sighed. "My gut's telling me something else is going on that what we know," he said just as the doors opened to the bullpen.

**In a Room Somewhere**

Ziva attempted to suppress a groan as she struggled to open her eyes. Her left eye was practically useless with all the swelling around it, and her right eye was beginning to get just as bad. She no longer felt the pain that radiated through her body; it had grown numb a long time ago. With no windows in the room she was in, Ziva had no idea how long she'd been tied to the chair. It seemed like it had been forever, yet it seemed like it was only yesterday she was in Washington with those she'd come to think of as family. Family? she half-laughed. That is not how she left them. She made them believe they meant nothing to her, but that was the biggest lie of them all. They meant everything to her; she trusted them more than anyone else. She trusted them to find her, all she had to do was hold out long enough for Gibbs to find her.

As soon as the plane has disappeared from Ziva's view, she knew she was in trouble. Something was not right about the mission briefing her father had given her. If he had been as positive that the training camp was in Somalia as he said he was, why hadn't he called in the task force? Instead, he sent Ziva with five others. Those five Ziva had seen around before, but never had she talked to them. That should have been her first warning.

Ziva heard footsteps seconds before the door rattled open. In walked the man who visited at least five times a day. "Are you ready to talk yet?" he asked, his voice grating in Ziva's ears. "You are strong, but not strong enough. I will break you," he whispered in her ear right before punching her stomach-the first of a series of hits she received. She only remembered a handful of them before she blacked out. Her last thought before giving in to the darkness was of Tony laughing in the bullpen back when everything seemed peaceful and perfect.

_Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think!!!_


	2. Chapter 2

It'd been almost twenty-four hours since Tony received the package, and the team was getting anxious. Every moment that went by was a moment Ziva did not have. Although ordered by Vance to go home for a few hours, no one left, and they did not plan on leaving until Ziva was safe.

"Gibbs!" Gibbs and Tony heard Abby yell as she ran towards their desks. "I found something, well McGee and I did," she said, sliding to a stop in front of Gibbs' desk. "We looked back at the coded emails we found. Something seemed hinky about them. Ziva would have known I could trace her email easily, she wouldn't have used it. At least not that bluntly," Abby rambled.

"Your point, Abs?" Gibbs sighed. He needed coffee.

"We hacked into Ziva's actual work account," McGee spoke up. "She never received emails from Rivkin. So, we traced the emails again. It was tricky, the used this high-tech decryption algorithm to mask the true destination," McGee explained, earning a Gibbs' stare from Gibbs and Tony this time.

"They were sent to Israel," Abby told the two men whose minds began reeling.

"He knew more than he said," Gibbs said, headed to the Director's office. There was something that needed to be figured out "Keep looking, find out where she is," he yelled back at the three.

**Director Vance' Office**

"Ready to fill me in?" Gibbs said, walking into Vance's office.

"Fill you in on what?" Vance asked, placing his pen on the desk in front of him and looking up at Gibbs.

"I know about your little secret mission," Gibbs said. "You've been investigating Mossad's true intentions for who knows how long now. Any of your contacts know about Ziva?" he asked.

Vance looked at Gibbs for a moment, not all that shocked that Gibbs knew. There did not seem to be a lot of stuff that got past the grey-haired agent. "I haven't found anything concrete yet," Vance admitted. "There have been murmurs, but I haven't been able to find any evidence to back them up."

"You could have told me, Leon," Gibbs said. "We're wasting time and aren't getting any closer to finding her. I have an agent being held somewhere and being tortured for reasons unknown, and another who can't think straight because the woman he loves who knows where getting beaten to a pulp and he can't do anything about it. You tell me what the hell I am supposed to do? Sit back and do nothing while they suffer? Or go against all odds and get my agent back safe? What would you do?" Gibbs tore at Vance. "You best decide whose side you are on, Leon," Gibbs added before leaving the office.

**In a Room Somewhere**

Ziva suppressed yet another groan. She was exhausted; she did not know how much longer she could make it. She still did not understand what the man wanted from her. How had they known she was from NCIS? She never even had a chance to take off her necklace before being kidnapped. That made her think: 'Where had my necklace gone?' She remembered the man coming in and ripping it off her neck. He must still have it, she figured.

**NCIS**

Tony hid in the men's locker room's shower. He needed to get away from the bullpen for a bit, but still refused to leave the NCIS building. His body was exhausted, but he refused to close his eyes. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the picture of Ziva badly beaten and awoke in a cold sweat.

Tony wished he could wake up and find that this was all a bad dream. He wished he could walk into the bullpen and see Ziva sitting at her desk fuming at something he did or said. Yet he knew she wouldn't be there. He didn't know where she was, and wished he did.

"Where are you, Z?" he asked out loud to himself. "Stay strong until we can find you and get you back. I'd rather have you here hating me."

After fifteen minutes, Tony turned the shower off, knowing he needed to get back upstairs and check on things. His arm still hurt on cold, rainy days, and it reminded him of how he had lost Ziva. All the evidence was pointing to Rivkin as being rogue, all he had wanted to do was talk it over with Ziva. Half of him expected to find Rivkin there, but the other half hoped he actually listened to the warnings Tony, Gibbs, and Director Vance had given him.

Upstairs, Gibbs sat at his desk silently urging Ziva to remain strong. 'Hold in there, Ziver. I'm coming to find you as soon as I can. Give us some clue, something,' he urged.

**Ziva**

Ziva heard the door open again. This time, however, the man came in with another following. "Let's see if you are ready to talk now," the man said, laughing manically as the bigger man walked towards her.

"What do you want?" she asked her voice raspy.

"Ah, she's decided to talk," the man said. "Tell me about one Leroy Jethro Gibbs," he hissed in her face.

"I do not know who you are talking about," Ziva lied, wanting to find out more.

"Liar," the man said, slapping Ziva across the face. "I know you spent three years working with him. I know you killed your brother to protect him," the man growled, grabbing a handful of Ziva's long black hair.

"I have killed many," Ziva replied. "However, I never killed my brother," earning another slap.

"Daniel, show our guest some hospitality," the man told the bigger man to her right and turned and left the room.

With her hands tied behind her and her legs tied to the chair, Ziva could do nothing while Daniel gave no mercy. Withdrawing into herself, Ziva thought back to better memories in order to endure the pain. She thought back to the nights she and Tony spent at her first apartment. He brought a new movie every week, a way, according to him, for her to further assimilate into the American culture.

**NCIS, Washington**

Tony sat at his desk, looking at the papers in front of him. They were the emails from Rivkin. After reading a few, he allowed his mind to drift. It'd been a while, but Tony remembered going to Ziva's house and watching movies with her. His favorite night was when the two ordered pizza and watched _The Princess Bride_. It was not one of his personal favorites, but he loved how it made Ziva laugh. She was at ease, and that's what he loved.

Turning his focus back to the emails, he read a few more. By the time he got to halfway through one of the emails, he cocked his head and looked back at the previous few.

"Boss, I think I might have something," he said, jumping from his seat and pulling up the emails on the big screen. "Do you notice anything about these emails?" he asked, putting the emails side by side. Gibbs just stood there. "There are letters slightly bigger than the others," Tony explained.

McGee pulled all the bigger letters from the email and put them together.

"It's nothing but a bunch of letters," Gibbs said.

"I'll try and see if they are scrambled or a code," McGee said, going to his desk.

"It's in Hebrew," Tony told the two. "I don't know much, just enough," Tony shrugged his shoulders at the questioning look the two gave him.

Abby and McGee made quick work of translating the hidden messages. Tony and Gibbs were reading them in Abby's lab when Vance walked in.

"Any of your rumors mention the northwest coast of Somalia?" Gibbs asked Vance.

"Only the latest one," Vance explained. "It's from a credible source."

"This proof enough for you? Gibbs asked, pointing to the message on the screen.

"A group of Seals is on their way as we speak," Vance told the team. "A plane is waiting to take you and Agent DiNozzo to the Ronald Reagan," he added. "Meanwhile, I will be cashing in a favor from an old friend," he said, leaving the lab.

An hour later, DiNozzo sat across from Gibbs as the C130 they rode took off. "Hey, Boss?" Tony yelled over the roar of the engines. "You don't think…" he started but trailed off.

"She never got my permission," Gibbs replied, knowing what the younger agent was thinking. "She doesn't hate you, either. She needed someone to blame, and you were an easy target," Gibbs told Tony.

"I hope so," Tony whispered to himself before settling in for the long trip.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for the reviews. Here's another update for you. My internet connection is going in and out with rain coming through (kinda annoying), so I'm going to post this while I have internet!_

The plane ride seemed to last longer than usual; not that Tony had ever flown to Somalia before. Every time he tried to close his eyes, a beaten Ziva flashed past his eyes. He finally decided that he would sleep whenever they got Ziva back to safety.

When the helicopter landed on the deck of the _USS Ronald Reagan_, Tony followed Gibbs to the bridge to get an update on the mission.

"They've been on radio silence since landing at 1600 hours yesterday," Admiral Macintosh told the two NCIS agents. "They are to radio in when the mission is completed."

"When?" Gibbs asked.

"Can't say. Without knowing what they have to go through to get to her, there's no way to judge," the admiral explained. "However, if there is no word in twenty-four hours, I have a unit on standby. Until we hear word, Lieutenant Charles will escort you to your quarters," he said, nodding towards the man standing next to the three.

Two hours later, Tony paced the little open space the two had as Gibbs lay on his bunk. "We should have heard something by now, what's taking so long?" Tony exasperated.

Gibbs did not say anything. He knew how Tony was feeling, and knew the only thing that could calm the man down was having Ziva safe. Truth be told, he was growing worried, too. What if their intel was wrong? What is the Seals never made it, or made it, and Ziva was not there? He shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. He knew covert missions took time, but there was not much time left.

**Ziva**

Ziva knew she would not last much longer. Three rounds of Daniel continually beating her was having their intended effect on her. She found herself wondering what she could possibly know about Gibbs that would earn this sort of torture. Mossad had been the ones who were tracking down this cell, so why were they trying to track down Gibbs? Something did not seem right about this, she found herself thinking.

Hearing quiet footsteps drawing closer to the door, Ziva prepared herself for another round of intense beatings and interrogations. Both of her eyes were useless from the swelling and dried, crusty blood caked on her face, so she could not see who came in, but she did not recognize the footsteps. Daniel's footsteps had been strong and flat; the other man's had a distinct tapping noise and a slight limp where he favored his right leg. These footsteps were quiet and determined, and, had it not been for the echo in the room, she may never have heard them.

"Ziva David?" Ziva heard a distinctly American voice say from in front of her. She wanted to reply, but her voice failed her. "We're here to take you home," the man said. "There is a group of very impatient people back in the States waiting for you."

"Who are you?" she managed to whisper as she felt the ropes being cut from her arms and legs and two men pick her up gently.

"Seals, Ma'am, friends of Agent Gibbs," the man on her left said, and she felt relief flood her body and she finally gave in to the unconsciousness that she'd been fighting for days.

**USS Ronald Reagan**

"The team had your agent and are headed towards the extraction point as we speak. They should be on board within an hour," Admiral Macintosh told Tony and Gibbs.

"Any word on her condition?" Gibbs asked.

The admiral shook his head, "Our communication was brief, I should know more when they board the helo."

Tony and Gibbs shared a look. They both knew how bad of a condition Ziva had been in the photo, and were preparing themselves for worse than that. Tony headed back to their quarters, while Gibbs headed to the deck to contact McGee and fill him in on the news.

Lying on his bunk, Tony silently ran Ziva's Star of David necklace through his fingers. As soon as he had been able, Tony put the necklace in his pocket as a promise. He swore that he would return the necklace to her, and that meant getting her back. Tony was so wrapped in his thoughts that he did not hear Gibbs enter and sit down in the chair against the far wall.

"She's safe, Tony," Gibbs told the younger man.

"I won't believe that until I see her," Tony said, staring at the top of the bunk above him. "How can someone be such a bastard that they would use their own children like this?" he asked, turning his head to look at Gibbs who shrugged. "I mean first Ari. Then, he used Zee-vah through Rivkin, and now he sent her off on her own suicide mission. What kind of father is that? What kind of father would not use ever resource available to track down his daughter, instead of turning his back on her?" he added.

"All Eli David cares about is his goals. He saw his children as tools, not people," Gibbs replied quietly.

"I wouldn't believe Zee-vah when she said that she did not have much of a childhood, but after meeting her father, I can understand," Tony said. "She told me once that if she ever returned to Mossad, every step she made would be scrutinized and dangerous. I thought that maybe the four months back last year changed that, but I guess not."

Gibbs sighed, "Tony, there's something you should know about Ziver. That night Ari came to my basement…" Gibbs began, but Tony interrupted him.

"I know," Tony said, and Gibbs understood but gave Tony a questioning look. "She told me the truth one night while you were in Mexico," he explained. Rolling over onto his back, Tony looked up at the bunk above him, "Man, I've missed her," he said more to himself than anyone.

Tony and Gibbs were on the deck as the helicopter carrying the Seal team and Ziva landed. As the side door opened on the chopper, the men watched as a man climbed out, holding a frail, dirty looking woman in his arms. The medics hurried over to him, and helped him lay her on the gurney as Tony and Gibbs watched solemnly. They could tell she was not conscious, and badly beaten, and silently prayed that they were not too late.

"Agent Gibbs, it's nice to see you again," the man that had carried Ziva said as he walked over to them. "I'm sorry it had to be in these circumstances though," he added, shaking Gibbs hand.

"Nice to see you too, Commander," Gibbs replied. "How is she, Jack?" he asked, watching the medics carry the gurney towards sickbay.

"Not good, sir," Jack said. "When I found her, she was pretty torn up and barely had any strength left. Within five seconds of freeing her, she passed out and has been that way since. They worked her over pretty good," he explained to the two.

"Any idea on who 'they' are?" Tony asked.

"Figured you might like to ask a couple yourselves," Jack smirked, nodding his head over to the helicopter where his men were helping two bound men down.

"Thanks, Jack," Gibbs said, patting the man's back. He would have a talk with the two later, but right now the most important thing was checking on Ziva.

Ziva drifted in and out of consciousness, but never woke up enough to figure out where she was. All she knew was that she was in safe hands, and that's all she cared about at the time. For now, she just wanted to sleep.

Tony walked into sickbay, and almost froze at the sight in front of him. If he hadn't of known Ziva to begin with, he would not have recognized her. Her body was covered in dried blood and bruises, her face swollen. He was sure there were a few broken bones, and he prayed nothing more serious was broken.

"How is she, doc?" Tony asked, walking to stand beside the doctor.

"She's in pretty rough shape. I'm amazed that she managed to survive all of this," the doctor said, shaking his head.

"She's tough," Tony told the man. "The toughest woman I know," he said, looking at Ziva.

"I expect she'll be in and out of consciousness for a few days, until her body had time to rejuvenate and begin the healing process. I'm going to start her on some fluids to rehydrate her, and keep a close eye on her. It's going to be a slow process," the doctor told Tony who nodded and sat down on the chair beside Ziva's bed.

"Hang in there, Z," Tony said, after the doctor left the cubicle. "Everyone's waiting for you back home. Abby's already beginning to decorate your desk area. I can only imagine what it'll be like. She's even drug Probie in on the decorating," he began talking about the people back in D.C. that were waiting for her, trying to pass the time until she woke up.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks everyone for your reviews, and for reading this story! I hope you continue to enjoy it!!_

Ziva heard people moving around, but her mind was still in a cloud. She knew she needed to wake up, but she was at peace here. There was no problems, no pain here. Here in this haze Ziva could pretend that nothing bad happened. She did not have to think about Michael using her emotions. Didn't have to think about her mixed emotions about Tony. Or about how her father had betrayed her yet again. But, she also realized that she needed to wake up and tell Gibbs who really had kidnapped and tortured her.

Tony was awoken by Ziva groaning in her sleep. It had been three days since the Seals had rescued her, and she had yet to wake up. He knew she was in pain, but there was nothing he could do for her until she woke up. She seemed to be more conscious not than in the past few days, maybe she was about to wake up. Gibbs stood up from his chair in the far corner of the room.

"It's time to wake up, David," Gibbs whispered in the Israeli's ear. "You've been sleeping long enough. The sooner you wake up, the sooner we can find out the truth," Gibbs told her.

Ziva vaguely heard Gibbs talking to her, but it was garbled. Everything seemed garbled. She felt Tony's presence on her left, and it confused her. In her mind, she knew she should be angry at him for killing Michael, but his presence seemed to sooth her. She should have realized there for her, he'd proven that enough times, yet each time she turned him away. Why? Why had they stopped hanging out once a week? What happened between them? They used to be growing closer, yet everything lately seemed to be trying to tear them apart. Yet, there was something that pulled her back. Something that kept her drawing close to Tony.

Gibbs and Tony were surprised when Ziva muttered something incoherent. They both thought they heard something, but neither wanted to say that they thought she said, even though they both heard the same thing: Tony.

Tony decided that he needed some fresh air, and walked just outside the door for a second. He felt Gibbs stand beside him as he leaned against the wall. "Why isn't she waking up?" Tony asked. "It's been three days. Even you didn't take this long to wake up," he told Gibbs.

"She's not me, Tony. She went through a lot. Not only with the torture, but with Rivkin," Gibbs told the man. "She needs time to sort out her mind, and this is helping that. There's going to be a lot for the two of you to talk about when she wakes up. I expect whatever is going on between the two of you to be resolved before she returns to work. Don't make me have to kick your asses," Gibbs warned Tony. "It's time you began your own list of rules," he told the man before headed down the hall to get coffee, leaving Tony by himself.

When Tony walked into Ziva's room, he was startled to find two dark brown eyes looking back at him through the swelling. "You're awake," he managed to whisper. "How you feeling?" he asked, walking to her side.

"Tired," she croaked out, her voice crackly. Tony reached over and grabbed a glass of water for her to take a drink of. "Where are we?" she asked after taking a couple sips.

"On board the good ole _USS Ronald Reagan_ for yet another time," Tony attempted to joke. "I hate to admit it, but I'm beginning to grow a little too fond of this ship," he said, smiling slightly. "Boss went to get a cup of coffee; he should be back in a few minutes."

"It was my father," Ziva said tiredly. "I do not understand why," she said, breaking down. "Why?" she said as Tony took her in his arms.

"We'll figure it out, I promise," he soothed her.

Ten minutes later, Gibbs walked into the room to see a sleeping Ziva with her head lying on Tony's chest as he held her gently.

"She woke up just after you left. She knew it was her father," Tony told the marine. "He's got a lot of explaining to do," Tony said.

"I know, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "When she wakes up, tell her we are flying back to D.C. tomorrow morning. Doc thinks she's okay enough to fly."

"Is she staying?" Tony asked.

"I don't plan on letting her leave my team anytime in the near future," Gibbs assured the man. "I trained you guys, and I don't plan having to train newbies. I'm too old for that."

**D.C.**

Abby paced back and forth in front of McGee's desk, waiting for word from the others. "Why haven't they called? Gibbs promised to call the moment they landed in Atlanta. They should have landed by now!" Abby exclaimed.

"Abs, calm down. I'm sure there is a logical explanation. Maybe they are too busy," McGee offered.

"Gibbs wouldn't lie," Abby pouted.

"Have you heard from them yet?" Ducky asked, walking into the bullpen.

"No, they should be there by now," Abby said to the medical examiner.

"Well, I am sure they have a good explanation. Maybe they are running late. After all, Ziva is not in the best condition and flying is bound to take a toll on her," Ducky told the goth. "If Gibbs promised to call, I am sure he will as soon as he can," he assured her.

"Is it okay if I don't call?" a voice said from behind the three.

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, running over to him and embracing him in a giant, Abby-style bear hug.

"We thought you were flying into Atlanta before flying to D.C.," McGee asked confused.

"Tony had a friend that helped us make the flight quicker," Gibbs explained.

"Where is Tony and Ziva?" Abby asked, looking around.

"I dropped them off at his apartment. She's going to stay there for a while, until she can find a new apartment," Gibbs told the team. Abby started to say something, but Gibbs cut her off. "She needs to rest a bit before we go over there. The flight wore her out more than she wants to admit."

"Maybe I should swing by and check her over," Ducky offered.

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said. The three could clearly see how exhausted the man was. "You two, go home, rest. She's home and safe," he said more to himself than to Abby and McGee.

**Tony's Apartment**

Tony carefully carried a tray with a bowl of broth and a glass of Ziva's favorite tea into the living room, where Ziva was propped up and covered by a blanket. "Here you go. One bowl of the secret broth whose recipe has been handed down for generations dating all the way back to Italia," Tony said, placing the tray on Ziva's lap gently. "Be careful, it's hot," he warned as she reached for the spoon.

Ziva took a small sip of the broth in front of her and smiled. "This is from a can," she said and he laughed.

"Okay, so I lied a bit, but I cooked it just like my grandmother used to for me when I was a kid," Tony pointed out. "She told me that it was easy for anyone to just heat up a can of chicken noodle soup, but not everyone had the magic touch to make that same soup taste better. Her secret was adding a small dash of a special seasoning, and slowly stirring the soup for five minutes," he explained to Ziva. "OH! I forgot something," he said, remembering the necklace in his pocket. "I was going to return this to you back on the ship, but I never had a chance," he said, handing Ziva her Star of David necklace.

"Where did you get this? I thought I had lost it," Ziva said, holding the necklace softly in her hand.

"They mailed it to me with a picture and note," Tony explained what he'd received over a week ago. "I don't think they expected us to find you so easily," he said, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "I took it from Abby's lab the moment she cleared it from evidence. I swore that I would find you and return that necklace no matter what it took."

"Thank you, Tony," Ziva whispered, reaching to put the necklace on, but stopping when a flash of pain went through her broken left arm.

"Here, let me help," Tony said, standing up and walking behind her and he swiftly fastened the necklace in its rightful place around Ziva's neck.

"How did you find me?" Ziva asked as Tony returned to his seat on the coffee table. Tony explained the past week to Ziva from his point of view.

"Everyone was worried about you. I'm surprised Abby aren't knocking the door down to see you," Tony grinned.

"Give her time," Ziva said, a twinkle in her eye that Tony had not seen in a while.

"Do you want to watch television or something?" Tony asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"No, I think I want to rest for a bit," she said and Tony picked up the tray off her lap.

"You want to use the bed?" Tony asked. "This couch isn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world."

"What about you?" Ziva asked.

"Unlike you, my body can stand a night on this thing," he said as he began to help her off the couch and into the bedroom. "Bathroom is through that door, if you need anything just yell," he told her as he helped her snuggle into the bed.

Thirty minutes later Tony heard a gentle knock on his door, and walked over to see who was there. Opening the door, he saw Gibbs and Ducky standing there.

"I thought I might have a quick look at our dear friend," Ducky answered Tony's questioning gaze.

"Come on in," Tony told the two, holding the door wider and moving out of the two older men's way. "She actually just laid down in the bedroom a half-hour ago," he explained.

"I will try not to wake her," Ducky said, heading that way.

"How she doing?" Gibbs asked.

"'Bout the same as when you left," Tony answered. "I managed to get her to eat half a bowl of broth and keep it down."

"I managed to keep Abby away until tomorrow," Gibbs said. "Maybe Ziva will be a little better by then."

"Um, Boss, I just thought of something. Ziva doesn't have any clothes to change into. I have a few shirts she can wear, but that's it," Tony told the man in front of him. "I'm sure she's not going to want to prance around here in any of my shirts."

"I'll have Abby bring some over tomorrow," Gibbs said.

"What did Vance say?"

"He's working the loopholes to keep Ziva in the States. David is putting up a good fight. Claims not to have known about the rogue Mossad agents who held Ziva captive for over a month. Leon's working with the SecNav to make sure all the evidence against Eli is made known."

"What about the two men?"

"Fornell and his men are working on breaking them as we speak," Gibbs said as Ducky walked back into the room.

"She seems to be healing well," Ducky told the two. "It'll be a long road, I'm afraid. I looked at her medical charts yesterday. The break in her left radius will take a long time to heal. It had begun to heal without being properly set, so they will have to reset it. Knowing Ziva, she will think she's ready to do things long before she truly is. That, my friend, will be our hardest task: keeping her from overexerting herself," Ducky explained.

Tony looked towards the doorway leading to where Ziva lay sleeping. He knew it would be a long road, and silently he prayed that it would be smooth and easy, but at the same time knowing it wouldn't be. There was still an awkwardness between the two that neither wanted to admit to at the time. He knew the time would come that the two would have to face their demons and talk about what happened with Michael Rivkin.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Week Later**

Tony walked into the bullpen trying to hide the yawn he'd been trying to stop since he woke up that morning. Throwing his backpack behind his desk, Tony sat down and turned his computer on.

"You're early," Gibbs said, looking up at Tony.

"Just a little bit. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come on in and get some of my work caught up," Tony lied. Gibbs just stared at his senior field agent. He knew there was more to it than Tony was letting on, and he would figure it out soon enough.

"How's Ziva?" Gibbs asked, turning back to the paperwork on his desk.

"She's better. She's going to start looking for a new apartment either this week or next," Tony explained quickly, not really wanting to talk about her today.

_Flashback_

"I do not feel right stealing your bed from you every night," Ziva told Tony the night before.

"Ziva, we've been through this. I am perfectly fine sleeping on the couch," Tony sighed. His back killed him, but he refused to tell Ziva that particular detail.

"I do not take charity, Tony," Ziva said. "Tomorrow I will begin looking for an apartment, then I will be out of your hair," she told Tony from across the room.

"Is that what you think this is?" Tony asked. "Ziva, you were tortured for a month. We want to make sure you are healed up good before you go out on your own again. This isn't charity. This is helping a friend that we love. If you want, I can call Gibbs and see if you can stay there," he said.

"See, I knew it!" Ziva said, pointing her finger at him. "You ARE tired of having me here. I am interrupting your precious private life."

Tony walked over to Ziva. "Is that what you really think of me?" he asked, trying to keep his temper in check. "If you think that all I care about is who the next woman I can sucker into sleeping with me, than you are wrong. I'll have you know that I haven't been with anyone since Jeanne. Not that it's any of your business. If you really do not want me to sleep on this couch tonight, then I'll find somewhere else to sleep tonight," he yelled, grabbing his jacket and keys and leaving Ziva standing shocked in the apartment.

After leaving the apartment, Tony drove around for about an hour before driving to a hotel and renting a room. No matter how hard he tried, Tony could not sleep. By three, he gave up trying, and went for a run, returning by four. After showering, Tony decided to head on to work and see how useful he could be there

_End Flashback_

By mid-afternoon Tony was elbow-deep into the paperwork and nothing around him caught his attention. McGee knew something was up the moment Tony did not comment on something he slipped up and said. Neither Gibbs nor McGee wanted to ask Tony what was wrong. They correctly assumed it had something to do with Ziva, what else could it be?

The three men were working on paperwork when the elevator dinged. No one lifted their heads to glance at who it could be. It could have been anyone in the bullpen. "Hello, Gibbs," the men heard a familiar voice say from in front of Gibbs' desk.

"Ziva, what are you doing here?" Gibbs asked, looking up worried.

"I needed some fresh air," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Tony's apartment is forty minutes from here," Gibbs said.

"I took a cab, which, by the way," she said, turning to Tony's desk, "I used the credit card you left on the kitchen table." Tony nodded his head. 'So that's where that card was,' he thought to himself. "I want to come back to work," she told Gibbs. "I feel useless sitting around that apartment not doing anything."

"You aren't allowed back for another two weeks," Gibbs told her.

"Please, Gibbs. I need to do something," Ziva pleaded uncharacteristically. Tony sat at his desk watching the conversation take place. He knew this was somehow connected with what happened last night, but it still surprised him.

Gibbs studied Ziva for a moment. He could not figure out what was going on. Sighing he said, "My office," and led Ziva to the elevator. When the doors shut, he flipped the switch and asked, "What's going on, Ziver?"

"I am board. Let me at least do desk duty. I promise I will take it easy until I am ready," she said.

"Ziva, you know I'm ready to have you back, but you're not ready," Gibbs told her. "What's really going on?" he asked fatherly.

"I cannot stay in that house any longer, Gibbs. Everything reminds me of tony, which in turn reminds me of how he killed Michael," Ziva admitted. "I cannot forgive him for that no matter what he does now."

"Have you ever stopped to wonder why you are staying at his house and not mine? Given that I have an extra bedroom and he doesn't?" Gibbs asked and Ziva shook her head no. "You could have stayed with Ducky or me, but Director Vance thought it best for you to be at Tony's apartment," Gibbs explained, reaching for the switch. "Maybe you should think about who really betrayed you," he told her before leaving the elevator and heading back to his desk. "DiNozzo, take David back home. Take the day off. Anything she needs, get it for her," he ordered.

"Got it, Boss," Tony said, leaping up from his chair.

"Hey, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as Tony started to leave. "Don't forget, or there'll be hell to pay," he warned the man who nodded in understanding.

The ride to Tony's apartment was a silent, awkward one. A few times Ziva had opened her mouth to say something, but always shut it before the words escaped. Tony saw Ziva grimace as she stepped out of the car, and quickly walked over to help her walk up the stairs to the apartment. Neither said a word until they were at the apartment.

"Where did you go last night?" Ziva asked quietly as Tony shuffled through the pile of mail on the counter.

"Got a hotel room," he said not looking up. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked.

"I am not hungry," she said, earning a worried glance from Tony. "I ate before I left," she explained and he relaxed a bit.

"Have you found an apartment?" he asked, grabbing a soda for him and a bottle of water for her from the fridge.

"Tony, I am sorry I said that," Ziva said. "I should be grateful that you are giving me the use of your apartment, not awful like I am being."

"I probably deserved it," he sighed, sitting on the recliner across from where she sat on the couch.

"What did Gibbs mean when he told you do not forget?" Ziva asked.

"It's nothing. I forgot to fill out some paperwork that he is wanting," Tony said, and Ziva knew he was lying.

"Why did you choose to let me stay here," Ziva asked, remembering her and Gibbs' conversation.

Tony shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Tony, do not lie to me," Ziva said. "I know Vance told you to let me stay here, and I know there is something more going on that no one is telling me," she fumed. "If you do not tell me what, I have ways of finding out," she warned and Tony could not help but chuckle slightly.

"Somehow I know that's the truth, even with a broken arm and ribs," he said. "Abs and McGeek decoded the rest of the emails and learned that there was also a plan that included capturing me," he explained.

"What emails?" Ziva asked, and Tony realized she did not know the whole back story.

"After I got the box with your necklace and picture in it, we looked through the emails we found on the burnt laptop from your apartment," Tony began. "They were set up to look like it was between you and Rivkin," Tony saw a flash in Ziva's eyes. "Abs and McGee were able to figure out that it was actually your father and Rivkin communicating. There was a hidden message within the actual email," Tony explained the whole situation to Ziva.

"We are bait now?" Ziva exclaimed after Tony finished. "I thought you were tired of playing the pawns in this chess game," she asked him.

"I have no choice," Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose where a headache threatened. "When your father learnt that you were rescued from the training camp he sat up, he sent out a warning to Director Vance. If we do not send you back, then we will pay for interfering with a foreign agency's training."

"He sees me as unfit," Ziva said. "If he ever catches me, I will die," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I don't plan on letting him," Tony promised her. "I know you don't exactly like me right now, and I don't blame you, but we are going to have to work together until this is over. After it's finished, you can go back to hating me," he told her.

"I do not hate you, Tony," Ziva said. "I was not in my left mind at the time."

"Right mind," Tony smiled as he corrected her. "It's nice to have you back, Zee-vah."


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks for reading my story everyone! I have officially finished this story, so all I have to do now is post the remaining chapters. _

Ziva and Abby had decided to throw Tony a birthday the next week. Any excuse to get the team together was good enough for them, even though Tony was not all that thrilled with the idea.

The birthday party was a success. Everyone enjoyed spending time together away from the workplace and without Vance breathing down the backs. Ziva enjoyed seeing everyone, and they could definitely tell her was healing better and better every day. The whole team got a good laugh out of watching Tony open his presents. It was like watching a little kid on Christmas morning. Every present he opened got the same attention as the rest. He would thank the person who gave it to him profusely before turning to the next one and tearing into it.

After everyone trickled out, Tony and Ziva relaxed in the living room contently. "I haven't had a birthday party like that since I was five," he said, looking up at the ceiling, his head leaned back against the sofa. "Thanks for that," he said, rolling his head to look at her. "I had a lot of fun."

"You are welcome," Ziva replied, looking at him from the other side of the couch.

"You know, I just realized that you did not get me a present, just a card with an IOU in it," he remembered.

"I wanted to wait to give you it," she said sheepishly. Disappearing briefly into the bedroom, Ziva returned with a small wrapped package and held it out for him. "It is not much."

Tony took the package and gently opened it. When he pulled the wrapping paper away, his movements stopped and he stared at the present in front of him. It was a photo album with a picture of the team, with Jenny, in the center of the cover.

"I was bored one day while you were at work, and found a bunch of photographs of the team you had in the cabinet by the television. I thought it would be nice to have them all together, so you can look at them whenever you wanted," she explained quietly.

"Thanks, Zee-vah. This means a lot," he whispered, running his fingers across the frame.

"Open it up," Ziva said, sitting next to him.

As Tony flipped through the pages of the photo album, he felt as if he was going back through time. There were photographs of he and Gibbs before Kate joined the team, photos of when Kate joined, photos of Abby, Ducky, and Gerald, photos of a younger McGee. When Tony flipped the page, it switched to when Ziva joined the team. He remembered when most of the pictures were taken and laughed when he thought back to that day.

"I did not realize you actually kept some of the candids we take at the crime scenes," she told him.

"After losing Kate and Gibbs leaving, I thought it was a good way of remembering those I worked with. Of remembering the times I shared with those close to me," he explained. "I had forgotten that I had most of these," he admitted. "Thanks," he told her once more. "This is the best present I've ever had."

Ziva smiled at him gently. "I wanted you to know how grateful I am for what you are doing for me," she explained. "I understand that you did not have a choice but to kill Michael, but at the time my emotions were getting the better of me. I refused to believe someone that close to me betrayed me so blatantly. I should have realized it sooner, but I was too stubborn. You warned me, but I did not listen and I am sorry for that. I should have trusted you, but I did not," she opened up to Tony for the first time since everything happened. "I wanted to believe that Michael actually loved me for who I am, and not because I was a resource he could use."

"I'm sorry it all happened to you," Tony sincerely said. "If I could, I would go back in time and prevent all of this. I would never have let it go as far as it did."

"Tony, you could not have known."

"I knew there was something kinky going on, I was just too late in figuring it out. I questioned my gut. I dismissed the gut feelings I had because I thought I was jealous, but that wasn't true. Well, it was, but it wasn't," Tony rambled as Ziva watched him. "Yes, part of me was jealous that there was a man who had caught your attention, but another part of me did not trust that man. There was something about him that did not sit right with me, but I could not figure it out. I did not realize why until it was too late, and I had no choice."

"Abby told me about you having her do background searches on Michael," Ziva said. "Why would you risk your own career on trying to protect me?" she asked, recalling their confrontation in Tel Aviv.

Tony thought for a moment, studying Ziva's face. "Because I don't want to lose you, and that's exactly what I was thought happened when Gibbs walked onto the plane alone. I thought I had lost you forever and never had the chance to tell you how I truly felt," he said, turning to face her better. "I was afraid that I would never get the chance to tell you how much I loved you. How much I wanted to have you in my life," he admitted.

Ziva sat there stunned. She was not sure she had just heard what she thought she heard: Tony admit he cared for her.

"I know you cared for Rivkin, and all that. And I know it's probably not the best time to tell you that, but I felt like I had to," Tony spoke up.

"Yes, I cared for Rivkin, but something kept holding me from falling in love with him. Every time I thought I loved him, something would come up that reminded me of you. I never wanted to admit it, especially with Gibbs around, and not knowing how you truly felt," Ziva explained to Tony.

"When Gibbs and I were waiting for you to wake up, he told me something that I haven't thought on much until now," Tony told her. "He told me that his rules were to train us to become 'the best damn agents.' It's time for us to make our own rules," he explained. "And my rule numero uno is to never have one Special Agent Ziva David out of my sights."

Ziva laughed at what Tony said, and Tony enveloped her in a large, gentle kiss. Now if only they were out of the woods, then Tony would consider life to be perfect.

Pulling back, Ziva said, "Oh, I also found those pictures of me in that bikini." Tony noticably gulped, preparing for her wrath. "I figured you would want them in the album, too, but they are hidden," she explained, flipping to the page where she stored them behind the photograph of her with her finger through the bullet hole on her hat. Tony just laughed.

_Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the little confusion from last chapter. NO it was not the last chapter, I promise. I have a total of 10 chapters, I believe for this story, so there are still a few more coming. Thanks for reading and reviewing for me! Here's the next chapter for you!_

Tony woke up the next morning torn between wanting to whistle and worrying about what was to come. Poking his head into the bedroom, he made sure Ziva was still there before he went into the kitchen to make some breakfast before leaving for work.

He just closed the oven from putting biscuits in when he heard Ziva say, "I think I should look at the e-mails."

"Gibbs told you to stay here," Tony said, turning to face her.

"I know, however, I think I may be able to explain some things that no one else can," she said. "I know Michael and my father better than anyone," she further explained.

Tony thought about it for a moment. It made sense, but he knew Gibbs would kill him the moment Ziva walked into the bullpen. "If I get killed for this, don't let them bury me in a monkey suit," Tony joked. "Breakfast is about done."

"The smell woke me," Ziva replied, smiling as she sat down at the table.

On the way to the Navy Yard, Ziva said, "I do not know whether I should be mad or shocked that you learned Hebrew."

Tony shrug his shoulders, "I got tired of not knowing what you said on the phone all the time. I'm nosy," he explained and Ziva laughed.

As Tony drove closer to the parking garage where he normally parked, the feeling in his gut got stronger. "Something's wrong," he told her and she nodded. She had the same feeling.

Ziva discreetly pulled her cell phone out, dialing Gibbs' number. "Do you have a spare gun?" she asked Tony who pointed to his glove box.

"Ziva, what's wrong?" Gibbs asked over the speaker phone. It usually was not a good sign when his agent asked for a gun.

"We are driving into a trap," she explained. "I can see three, but there are more," she explained the situation.

"We're on the way," Gibbs said. "Keep this line open," he told her, and she sat the phone in the cup holder between the two as she checked the pistol over.

Tony chose a parking space next to a concrete barrier the two could use for cover. As soon as he opened his car door, the gun fire began. The two crouched back to back, firing towards where the shooters.

During a slight lull in the gunfire, Tony and Ziva knelt back against the concrete. "Why is it always us stuck in a situation like this?" Tony asked and Ziva chuckled.

"DiNozzo, David, can you hear me?" they heard Gibbs yell through the phone in Ziva's shirt pocket. "What's your location?"

"East side of level three behind the center concrete tower," Ziva said. "There are shooters on the roof of the building across the street, and one on the top of the building to the south. There are others hidden throughout this level," she explained the situation.

"How's your ammo?" Gibbs asked and the two looked at each other.

"Just hurry up with back up," Tony said as a shot went off from a new position.

**Gibbs**

Gibbs and McGee hurried towards the sound of gunfire. Vance led a group towards the Naval Records building, while another group went to the base cafeteria where there were snipers positioned shooting at the two agents.

Gibbs mentally kicked himself in the butt for not having better protection on his two agents. He had assumed that a protection detail around Tony's apartment would be enough, but he was wrong.

"Building one has been neutralized. Suspect dead," Gibbs heard over his radio. "Moving to main zone now."

Motioning to McGee, Gibbs signaled for those he led to proceed up the levels. When they reached level two, the second group announced building two in their control. By the time Gibbs reached the third level, he noticed something about the gunfire: it was all rifles. There was no pistols shooting, which meant Tony and Ziva were out of bullets or… He did not have time to finish that though before shots were fired at him. Hurrying through the gun fire, Gibbs pushed closer to where his agents were supposed to be.

Gradually the shooting died down as the teams picked off the shooters, trying to keep some as prisoners.

"Tony! Ziva!" Gibbs yelled.

"Over here, Boss," he heard Tony return.

Running over to them, Gibbs looked for any signs of injury. When he say blood on both their shirts, he grew worried, although he did not let it show, much.

"It's just a scratch," Tony assured Gibbs. When he dove behind the wall, Tony scraped his arm on the concrete. "Her's is worse," Tony nodded towards Ziva.

"I am fine," Ziva insisted.

"Some of her wounds opened back up," Tony told Gibbs.

"Let's have Ducky check you out," Gibbs said, helping Ziva up off the ground.

**Later**

"Do you recognize any of these men?" Gibbs asked Ziva, pulling the photos of the shooters onto the plasma.

Ziva looked at the screen, using the remote to flip through the photographs, studying each one. "I have seen some of these men before, but I could not tell you their names," she said. "They are part of the execution team. Only my father knows their identities, and where they are. They do his bidding," Ziva explained.

"How much proof do we need to bring this son of a bitch down?" Tony asked.

"My father has many allies," Ziva said, glancing quickly at Tony. "It will take more than this to bring him down."

"He doesn't know me very well, yet," Gibbs said, storming off.

"Officer David, I thought you had orders to stay at Agent DiNozzo's apartment," Vance said from behind Tony and Ziva.

"I thought I could be of some help deciphering the e-mails Abby and Agent McGee have," Ziva explained. "I know my father and Officer Rivkin better than they do."

"As soon as she finished reading them, I planned on taking her back home to rest the rest of the day," Tony spoke up.

"They used your impatience against you," Vance told the Israeli. "They knew you would find any way possible to return to work, and that is exactly what you did," he scolded.

"I refuse to sit at home all day, knowing that there is someone trying to kill my partner and me and not doing something about it. If you think I would do otherwise, than you are incorrect. I was trained to go after those that are chasing me, even if that means putting myself in a dangerous position," Ziva went off. Her pent-up emotions from the past few months finally boiled over the edge. "My father has been using me for his personal gain for as long as I remember. I was a Mossad agent before I was a teenager. He knew about the bomb that killed my sister. He used it to force me to fully commit to Mossad. And finally, the whole time he is saying he wants to mend his relationship with his only daughter, he uses her. So, do not tell me that I should not have come today. I am tired of my father's charades, and I am going to end this once and for all," she yelled at the director. Before he could say anything, she walked out of the bullpen.

Tony watched her going, trying to decide if he should go after her or stay where he was. Looking at the Director, Tony felt he needed to say something, "I've never seen her blow up like that before."

"She needs time to understand what's going on," Vance explained. "We will figure out the truth," Vance told the agent. "If Director David is behind all of this, he will pay. Right now, the most important thing you need to do is make sure she is okay. She is going to need all the support you can give her," Vance said, surprising Tony who went down the hall where Ziva had disappeared.

Walking into the gym, Tony looked around and found Ziva slouched in the far corner. Ziva looked up at him when he walked. "You are late," she said, and Tony thought back to a year ago when he said almost the same thing to her. Instead of replying, he just sat down on the ground next to her. "I should not have blown up on the director," she scolded herself.

"He's not sending out the firing squad," Tony assured her. "You okay?" he asked gently.

Nodding, Ziva said, "I am tired of all this."

"I know," Tony said, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him. "Gibbs will get you out it," he promised.

"Do not underestimate my father," Ziva said. "When he sets his eyes on a goal, he will not budge."

"Neither will Gibbs," Tony replied, stroking her shoulder.

"They wanted me to tell them things about Gibbs," Ziva whispered after a while. "I guess he wanted to see who I was truly loyal to. By forcing me to betray Gibbs, they thought they could make me a better Mossad officer."

"That doesn't make sense," Tony said, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"By harboring secrets about Gibbs, I was betraying Israel," Ziva explained their logic.

"It still does not make sense," Tony said. "Why would they want to know about Gibbs? Out of all the stuff you could know, why would they choose him?"

"That is what confused me. I thought maybe the emails would make it clearer," she explained.

"You want to read them now?" Tony asked. "Or would you rather stay here a bit longer?"

"Just a few more minutes, and then I will be ready," Ziva said, nestling her head in the crook of his neck and her arms snaked around his waist.

Tony sat there holding his ninja while she regained her thoughts and emotions. Inside, he was reeling. This was not the woman he grew to love over the past three years. This woman was broken. She'd been torn apart by those that she thought loved her, and he, the one person that truly did love her, could do nothing but watch her suffer. All he could offer was his support. He knew that one day his ninja would return and he could not wait for that day to come.


	8. Chapter 8

_Here is Chapter 8 for ya'll to enjoy!_

No one asked Tony or Ziva where they'd been when they walked into Abby's lab. Instead, they acted as if the two arrived exactly on time. The only exception was Gibbs who asked Tony if all was alright through a silent look between the two, when Tony subtly nodded the two turned their attention back to what Abby was saying.

When Vance told Gibbs what Ziva had done in the bullpen, he knew she reached her boiling point. They would have to be careful from here on out to make sure Ziva made it through everything. Gibbs knew she was close to the edge, and he prayed that they could keep her from falling over before then.

"Tony," Gibbs called quietly, nodding for the man to follow him out of the room.

"What's up, Boss?" Tony asked when they were out of earshot from the rest.

"How are you doing?" Gibbs asked, startling Tony. He had been expecting Gibbs to ask about Ziva.

"I'm fine, Boss," Tony answered, earning a Gibbs' stare. "What am I supposed to say?" he yelled. "That I'm scared like hell because I have no idea what to do? Cause that's how I'm feeling right now. That woman in there is not the crazy ninja chick that I know. The Ziva I know is not supposed to show emotions."

"She's still in there," Gibbs assured him. "She's tough, we all know that. But, we take that for granted, even Ziva. She's human just like the rest of us, but she doesn't want to admit that. I know about what happened upstairs. She can't keep bottling up her emotions," Gibbs told the man.

"You always seem to be able to get her to talk better than me," Tony said. "All she wants to do with me is kill me."

"Tony, it's time for you to stop hiding behind your wall," Gibbs said. "I can already tell that something has changed between the two of you, but it's not enough. You both are so damn stubborn that you can't see what's been in front of for three years. If it takes some big event happening to make you realize how much you really care for each other, then it may be too late," Gibbs warned the man.

Tony thought about what Gibbs said. He had a point. Even though he and Ziva told each other how they felt, they still acted as if nothing changed between the two. But, how could they have a relationship right now? Especially when every where they turned there was danger creeping up. "I know, Boss," Tony said, returning to the lab.

"These emails will not be enough to take my father down," Ziva sighed as Tony and Gibbs rejoined the group. "I want to talk to the men the Seals captured," she told Gibbs without hesitation.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Tony spoke up. Putting Ziva in an interrogation room with the same men that had been 'interrogating' her for the past month was not something that Tony would recommend.

"They are the only link that connects my father. If they confess to being hired by my father then we have better proof," Ziva explained.

"I'll talk to them," Gibbs said. Before Ziva could protest, he added, "If we let you go in there, than everything that is said during that time is null and void. You can watch, but that's it."

**Interrogation Room**

Ziva stood in front of the one-way mirror, looking at the Daniel, the man who used her like a punching bag. No matter how hard she tried to ignore the feeling, she felt fear creep into the pit of her stomach.

"You don't have to do this," she heard Tony say from her right.

"To give into fear is to admit that it is there to begin with," Ziva quoted a phrase her mother told her when she was a child.

"My nanny used to tell me that," Tony said as Gibbs walked into the other room.

"Who hired you?" Gibbs asked the man in front of him.

"I would think that by now you would realize that I am not going to answer that question," Daniel smirked.

"Oh, you will soon," Gibbs promised. "We have enough evidence to send you to Gitmo within the next five minutes," he said. "You are going to tell me who hired you, and you are going to tell me what they wanted to know."

Daniel chuckled, the smirk still on his face. "I have been trained by the finest interrogation agents in the world. You may try all you want, but you will never get me to talk."

Ziva did not turn from the scene in front of her, when the door opened to the room. Her mind vaguely registered that it was Director Vance that had walked in.

Gibbs smiled and let out a small laugh, "You're right," he said, nodding his head. "They don't teach us interrogation in the Corp," he said, standing up and leaning across the table. "They teach us 'aggressive negotiations.' One touch in the right spot and I can make you cry like a little baby," Gibbs told the man, his face void of the previous smile. "I know you were the one who beat my agent. I know every bruise and broken bone you put her through. If I had my choice, I would put you through twice what you put her through. I don't know what _your_ training taught you, but my training taught me never to give up. Use whatever means to reach the goal."

"Your Marine Corp is no match to the Mossad!" Daniel spat out, so furious he did not realize what he said.

Gibbs sat back in his chair and stared at the suspect in front of him. "Now, why would Mossad order their agents to kidnap and torture one of their own agents?" Gibbs asked. "I have a hard time believing that one."

"Ziva David is not one of us," Daniel spat out. "She has been softened by you Americans. We were told to get all information we could from her before terminating her," Daniel said. "We were to make sure she no longer was useful for anyone. She knew too much."

Tony felt Ziva tense up beside him, and gently reached out and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Something is not right about this," Ziva whispered. "If they were going to kill me, they did not need to break me first," she said.

"Unless you knew something that they wanted," Vance said, pulling a toothpick out of his pocket. He had promised to stop chewing them, but this case was just too stressful. It was either starting his toothpick habit or his cigarette one.

"It was about Gibbs," Tony exclaimed, remembering what Ziva had told him only a few hours ago. "Remember, you said that they were constantly asking what you knew about Gibbs?" he asked Ziva whose eyes grew wide.

"He's still on the mission," Vance said, taking off out the door with Tony and Ziva following.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Here is the next chapter for you! Only one more to go....**_

Gibbs did not have time to react before Daniel jumped out of his seat and threw the table towards Gibbs, sending his chair flying to the floor. Daniel was on him in a flash, but before he could do anything, a voice stopped him.

"If you want to survive, I would suggest you get the hell off of Agent Gibbs," Ziva said from between Tony and Vance. She did not have a gun, but her face shot daggers at the man.

Daniel did not heed what she said, and began strangling Gibbs. When Vance reached out to pull the man off of Gibbs, Daniel retaliated by throwing him against the far wall.

"Freeze, or I will shoot," Tony told the man, even though he knew he couldn't with Gibbs in the way.

Daniel did not listen to Tony and went back to beating Gibbs. Ziva's body switched into her Mossad training, and pulled the large man off of Gibbs. When Daniel swung to knock her off balance, Ziva ducked and missed it, throwing her own punch when she stood back up. The two fought against one another, until Ziva managed to pin the man between herself and the ground.

Leaning down, Ziva whispered in the man's ear, "You may think you are tough when the one you are beating is tied to a chair, but it is a different story when the field is even." Sitting back up, Ziva gave Tony room to re-cuff the man, standing up to let the guard take him back to the holding facility.

"You okay, Boss?" Tony asked, reaching out a hand to help Gibbs up.

"What took you so damn long?" Gibbs yelled at the two. "I thought I taught you better than that."

"I will remember that for next time," Ziva said, smiling at the marine who tried his best to maintain the act but failed.

"Director?" Tony asked, turning to where the man lay on the floor against the wall.

Vance groaned as he sat up holding his head. "I knew there was a reason I hated being a field agent," he said before leaving to room to ensure Daniel was safely secured.

"I should have realized the truth, Gibbs," Ziva said. "I should have connected the lines."

"Connected the dots," Tony corrected. "There's no way you could have known they were only after Gibbs to begin with," he added.

"He is using the same tactic Ari used," Gibbs fumed. "I should have seen it," he emphasized, walking out of the room, leaving Tony and Ziva alone.

"I never realized how much Ari and my father were alike," Ziva said, leaning against the interrogation room wall. "They allowed their jealousy to overshadow their job," she explained.

"Sounds familiar," Tony said, referring to he and Ziva.

"Our jealousy did not stop us from doing our job," Ziva pointed out. "I wanted to believe you killed Michael out of pure spite, but I could not get myself to, no matter how hard I tried. I did not believe you were capable of discerning between your personal and professional feelings."

"One of us had to keep our head," Tony said. "It was a hard time, and I'm just glad it's over. I wish it never happened, but that's not a choice."

Ziva stood there thinking for a moment, before deciding, "We better find Gibbs."

**Bullpen**

"What you got, McGee?" Gibbs asked, walking to his desk with a fresh cup of coffee.

"I've searched every database I could think of, and Abby is working on it, too, but we can't find any records of him," McGee said dejectedly. "I'm trying to match his photograph right now."

"My father would have erased all possible records," Ziva said, walking into the area. "He is trying to hide his connection."

"We'll find him," Gibbs told the Israeli. "I'm tired of him messing with my team," he said, hitting his desk with his fist. "Can you remember anything they might have said?" he asked Ziva.

"I told you everything I know," she said. "They beat me without asking anything for the first few days, and then they started asking me about you," she explained.

"Maybe I can help some," the team heard a voice say from by the windows. Looking towards the source, Tony, Gibbs, and Ziva recognized the Seal team leader that had rescued Ziva.

"When did you get to the States?" Gibbs asked, walking over and giving the man a handshake.

"I got two weeks leave," the man explained. "I don't believe we were ever formally introduced," he said, turning to Ziva. "Name's Commander Jack Parker."

"Nice to meet you, Commander. I owe you my gratitude," Ziva said, smiling warmly at the man.

"What can you tell us, Jack?" Tony asked sarcastically, walking up behind Ziva.

"I may be a Seal now, Tony, but I still remember how to investigate," Jack said.

"Do you know each other?" Ziva asked the two men.

"I joined NCIS about the same time Tony did," Jack explained. "We were both assigned to Gibbs. A year later, I decided to go back active."

"They're just alike," Gibbs told her. "Never get any work out of them, but it somehow gets done." Ziva smiled, she understood what Gibbs meant. "What you got?" he asked Jack.

"While we were extracting Agent David, two of my men swept through and took pictures of everything possible. My team and I had to leave the Reagan before I could tell you," Jack explained, holding up an SD card which Gibbs grabbed and gave to McGee who pulled the pictures up. "I looked through and did not really see anything obvious, but I figured you knew more about the situation."

The team huddled around the plasma screen as McGee flipped through the pictures. Tony felt Ziva tense up next to him when the photographs were of the room she was held in. "You okay?" he whispered and she nodded, smiling slightly.

"Wait," Ziva spoke up. "Go back to the picture before this," she told McGee who did so. Studying the photograph, she said, "Zoom in on that wall," pointing to the far wall. When McGee did so, she muttered something in Hebrew that no one could recognize, and Tony was sure he didn't want to know what she said.

"What is that?" Tony asked, trying to make sense of the photo.

"Can you clean it up?" Ziva asked, her gut already knew what it was. When McGee cleared it up, Ziva's prediction was correct. "That is a photograph," she told the others. "of Tali, Michael and me. My father used it as a reminder of what I had to lose."

"Why would they have it posted on the wall out in the open?" McGee wondered aloud.

"How many were there when you found me?" Ziva asked Jack.

"We killed three and capture two," he replied.

"They were expecting the attack. These five were ordered on a suicide mission," Ziva explained. "There was at least one other there," she said, adding something in Hebrew.

"Who?" Tony asked, understanding a bit of what she said. Ziva cursed under her breath; of course he had to learn Hebrew.

"My father and Hadar gave me that photo when I was assigned back to Israel the first time," Ziva explained. "It was a reminder of what I was fighting for. I brought it back with me, but kept it hidden. When Michael came, he had me put it in a frame and place it on my coffee table. When my father sent me to Somalia, he slipped a copy into my bag. Because it reminded me of my sister and Michael, I taped it on the wall beside my bunk."

"That still does not explain how it ended up here," Tony said.

"Someone put it there as a warning. They knew I would see it," Ziva explained.

"Hadar?" Gibbs asked.

"It is possible," she nodded.

"But, how did they find out about the op?" Jack asked. "It was a full covert operation that only a few were privy to."

"And only one had contact with David," Gibbs said, looking up towards the Director's office. "Who wants lunch?" Gibbs asked, throwing the team for a loop but they understood soon what was going on.

**Gibbs' House**

"This better be good, Jethro," Fornell said, climbing down the stairs into the basement. When he noticed the whole team there, he stopped. "No one got framed again, did they?" he asked, earning a slight glare from Tony.

"We need help taking down two agency directors," Gibbs said.

"What have you gotten yourselves into now?" Fornell sighed. Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva took turns explaining the situation to him. "NCIS goes all out, don't they?" he asked sarcastically.

"Look, can you help us or not?" Ziva blurted out. "I want this thing finished," she said.

"What evidence do you have?" Fornell asked, and McGee and Abby began showing him what they had.

Abby's explanation of the emails was cut short when Tony cried, "Ziva!?!" Everyone turned just in time to see Tony catch a limp Ziva.

"What happened?" Ducky asked, racing over to check the woman over.

"She just passed out," Tony said, holding her head in his lap. "Look," he said, showing them his hand that was covered in blood. "She must have reopened her wounds when she fought than Daniel guy," he explained.

"McGee, start tracing the Director's records. Find out if he has been talking to Eli David," Gibbs ordered. "Let's get her upstairs, we can lay her down in the spare bedroom," he told the two men next to Ziva.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Here's the final chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading this story! Thanks for all the reviews everyone! Enjoy_**

Ziva slowly felt herself waking up. She remembered being down in Gibb's basement, but could not remember going to sleep. Nor did she recognize the bed she was currently lying in. Beginning to panic, Ziva opened her eyes, trying to figure out where she was. When she caught Tony's worried eyes, she immediately settled down.

"How you feeling?" Tony asked, leaning closer to the bedside and caressing her check.

"Tired," she admitted. "What happened?" she asked, trying to remember.

"You passed out on us when Abs and McGee were explaining the evidence to Fornell," Tony explained. "Ducky thinks your body was not ready for all the excitement today," he added. When Ziva tried to sit up, a sharp pain went through her side causing her to wince. "You also popped the stitches Ducky did this morning when you fought Daniel," he told her.

"How long was I out?" she asked, looking at the clock.

"Nineteen hours, thirty-five minutes, and a handful of seconds," Tony said. "You slept through all the excitement."

"What excitement?" she asked.

"As of eight hours ago, Mossad's Deputy Director David and NCIS Director Leon Vance are no longer in charge of the respective agencies. They have been charged by their countries for treason, and terroristic activities," he explained.

_Flashback_

"Got it, Boss," McGee exclaimed and Gibbs and Fornell walked over to the probie. "Vance called the same phone number at least twenty times during the past two weeks. The number is an encrypted satellite phone, but Abby was able to trace it to Tel Aviv."

"That's not concrete enough to say it was David," Fornell said.

"We looked at the e-mails again," Abby spoke up. "Although the Mossad is capable of almost anything imaginable, I thought it was strange that they would be able to break into our secure e-mail server to make the e-mails look like they were going to Ziva's email. There's only one person that can easily have access to all e-mails, without having to go through the system: Director Vance. We found a hidden link embedded in the e-mails. Vance knew about the plan all along," she finished.

Gibbs looked at Fornell, wanting to know if that was proof enough. "We can't do anything about David, but we do have jurisdiction over Vance. I'll contact the SecNav and inform him," Fornell told Gibbs, moving to call in the news.

Gibbs pulled his phone out, he knew someone that could take down Eli David. "Kort, I believe you still owe me," he said, heading up the stairs out of the basement.

**NCIS Building**

Gibbs walked beside Fornell up the stairs to Director Vance's office. Surpassing Cynthia, who did not give up much of a fight, Gibbs opened the door to Vance's office.

Vance was sitting at his desk reading paperwork when the two men walked in. "Agent Fornell, Gibbs, what can I do for you?" he asked, putting the paperwork back on the table.

"Was it really worth it?" Gibbs asked. "If you really wanted me dead, did you really have to go through all this trouble?"

"Seems to me all he would have had to do was kill you himself," Fornell said. "Would have saved a lot of trouble."

"Mind telling me what you are talking about?" Vance asked, feigning ignorance.

"Director Leon Vance, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, you are under arrest for treason and terroristic activities, threatening the lives of those you work with," Fornell said, walking behind Vance and handcuffing him.

"You're making a big mistake," Vance said. "You have no idea what you are doing."

"Oh yeah I do," Gibbs said. "I warned you not to mess with my team," he told the man before leaving the room.

**Israel**

Deputy Director Eli David sat in his home office staring at the photograph in front of him. He only wanted his daughter to return to Tel Aviv the same woman who he sent to D.C. back three years ago. NCIS softened her; she was no longer the hardcore, emotionless assasin he had trained from a young age. The moment Ari turned rogue, Eli knew there would be almost no chance of bringing his daughter back to him. He thought that maybe the four months she was back in Mossad would have helped, but it didn't. Instead, it caused his jealous-side to overshadow his sense of duty. Eli easily recognized the change in Ziva's tone the moment she talked to Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs that day in his office.

Eli David did not move from his chair when he heard men walk into the room to arrest him. Instead, he sat there staring at the photograph. It was one of his favorite photographs. His only daughters were standing next to each other smiling wide. Their next door neighbor, Michael, stood next to the two. The day he took that photograph, the three had been outside playing soccer. Ziva had easily beat the two, just like she always had. She was his competitive child. Everything was a competition.

Now he'd lost everything. Tali was killed for reasons beyond comprehension. His raising of the perfect sleeper in Hamas, Ari, turned out not so perfect, and Eli had lost his two remaining children. But, his remaining daughter was now with those that she truly cared for and who truly cared for her. His only remaining wish was that she could find a way to forgive him for everything in time.

_End Flashback_

"It's over, Zee-vah," Tony whispered. "You're safe."

For the first time in a very long time, Ziva let out a sigh of relief. She felt the stress of everything slide off her shoulders. "Thank you, Tony," she whispered. "Thanks for being there for me, and keeping me sane," she said.

"You would do the same for me," Tony grinned down at her. "Guess this means you need to find an apartment now."

"Ready to have you apartment back for your night-time rendezvous?" Ziva joked, smirking at Tony.

"Haven't we had this conversation once before?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I will start looking when we get back to your apartment," Ziva said. "I am not in a hurry. Are you?" she asked, searching his face for a reaction.

"I'd be just fine letting you stay at my apartment, except for one condition," Tony said.

"And what is that?" she asked.

"I'm not sleeping on that damn couch one more night," Tony insisted. "You have no idea how uncomfortable that thing is," he told her. "When I get money, I'm buying a new one," he added, causing Ziva to laugh.


End file.
